01.20.20

Hoeven Statement on Administration Withdrawing Water Supply Rule

Senator Joined Bipartisan Group in Calling for State & Tribal Water Rights to Be Respected

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement after the President announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would withdraw its proposed water supply rule. This follows Hoeven and a bipartisan group of senators urging the administration in September to respect state and tribal authority over the water flows within their borders. The President made the announcement at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual trade show. 

“We appreciate the President for heeding our call to withdraw this far overreaching regulation from the Army Corps,” said Hoeven. “The water supply rule would have given the Corps control over the use of all waters surrounded by Corps property, ignoring historical precedent and the intentions of Congress. That’s why we pressed the administration to roll back this proposal, consult states and tribes on this matter and work toward solutions that preserve their water rights.”

This action aligns with Hoeven’s previous efforts to protect the water rights of North Dakota and other western states. To this end, the senator secured a provision in the 2018 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) legislation to prevent the Corps from charging fees for using water from the Missouri River reservoirs through 2026, similar to his States’ Water Rights Act. 

-###-